the people i know in CT ... which apparently is vole heaven ..

dig up all their hosta.. and replant them in wire cages ...

if you leave it there.. it will be gone ....

ken

Kellybaby,
Follow Kens advice but try not to disturb the area under the Hosta .If you put some Rat poison in the hole and cover it with a shingle and a brick you will make a dent in your vole population because they take the bait back to the main tunnel where it is shared by all.You can even lift the shingle every day to watch the bait get taken. It is kind of a "sadistic payback " for all of the damage that they have done to you!

Denny

Only sure cure....get a cat!

Deb

Kellybaby,if there is still some roots,it will still live. Only thing is you can't leave it where it is,or they will get the rest of it! I had a few like that,and I moved them to a part of the garden where voles have never been attacking. They are still alive and thriving. Unless you don't have an area where the voles aren't living? Phil

I had three attacked a few years ago, and all that was left were the crowns and leaves. I put them in a pitcher, with water up to, (but not over the crowns) and let them sit that way till more roots were sprouted. I changed the water every few days.

In the meantime--the rat poison was put out in bottles and jars at the 'scene of the crimes'! I made sure, the holes in the lids were very, very small---1/2 diameter at the very most so nothing but voles would enter in to dine! It seemed to work! I've not had a loss since then--thank you, Lord!!!!

I wouldn't leave the hosta in place, either--do the water thing to get more roots going! No sense in sacrificing it to the voles, IMO!!

Ok, so as I wrote this, my husband came home with rat poision and I lifted the hosta up (and of course, they had a nest under there) and we placed a few and then found some tunnels and placed them there and went back today (we did this yesterday late afternoon) and lo and behold, we got one! Yipee for me! I am on the hunt to get rid of as many as possible! PS - I have a cat, but she is a house cat so she is of no use in this adventure.

I had a similar experience a few years ago. I feel your pain!! I sunk a few hosta in pots in the ground when I was in panic mode. They're still in the pots doing fine. THen I started using crushed oyster shells (chicken grit from a feed store) to line saucer-shaped holes. I replanted a lot of my hostas like that. I line the hole about 1/4" thick with the shells then plant as normal then sprinkle some shells around the crown.

I still have voles, I see their tunnels, maybe moles too. damage has been minimal. Except for last winter they devoured all my phlox except one. Fall mulching and/or heavy prolonged snow cover was the likely cause of that.

My dog catches a few (so I can't use poison), but she digs and makes a mess to get them so that's no good either.

I picked up a mouse-vole size havahart trap recently. I haven't tried it yet. I was mainly thinking about using it in the fall for mice in the garage. But maybe I'll try it in the garden for voles.

I have killed several Voles this year using a mouse trap with peanut butter or a walnut, a black pot and a brick. I found Vole runs right to my new hosta and I set the trap right by it and have caught 5 in that spot alone. Try it, it works.

sally you're talking about a regular spring killing mouse trap? I have nothing against killing them, but I can't stand to deal with the dead bodies. (actually the live things are pretty gross too - LOL)

you cover it with a pot? do you have to place it right near an existing tunnel? I don't know what are my old tunnels or new tunnels.

Kelly, yep just the ordinary old mouse trap and make that count 6 in the same place, I went out and checked after talking to you and there was another one. There was a thread on here even with pictures of how it's done, search the files and see if you can find it. As far as getting rid of them at first I was happy to do it, now I just throw the whole thing away. I figure mouse traps are a lot cheaper than my prize hostas!!

In my beds, I have put down cypress mulch and it is very obvious where the runs are. I just put it along the run. But the ones by the entrance holes work too. My neighbor is doing the same and she's caught lots!

One thing I did notice was that there had been a mole in the bed just a few days before, and they use his tunnels.

I just ordered a rat zapper that can be used over and over, indoors or out. Good for all kinds of rodents. Hope it works...has really good reviews. I have voles and they don't seem interested in the traps with peanut butter....but the ants sure like it. The zapper can be over $50 but I found a much cheaper source.

http://www.alerg.com/page/A/PROD/PST/CL6000NR

Last summer the deer ate all our hostas. We bought repellent and won that war. Now the leaves are untouched but the base/roots are gone. After reading this forum, it sounds like we have a vole problem. Time to have a talk with the feral cat colony that lives in the woods behind our house( all spayed/neutered of course). Judging from the bumper crop of squirrels eating my bird feeders and chewing my drip water lines, the feral cats are getting fat and lazy...

Like RoseThyme above, I'm a big fan of the Rat Zapper but you have to make sure it doesn't get wet. Putting it under a cardboard box would probably do... take it in when it rains if you're home.

It is painless, they say, and my DH says they all look very peaceful...